Adrian Collins's Blog, page 36

REVIEW: Joker

Comic book movies are still all the rage and it takes something special to stand out. Releasing a dark villain-driven movie based on a character who has already had many appearances in film (and the range in quality from the brilliant Oscar-winning Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight to Jared Leto’s mess in The Suicide Squad) is a bit of a risk but Todd Phillips certainly wasn’t going to play it safe with Joker. Casting Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role, Phillips double down on the risk by creating a movie that dared to ask how low does the support in a society have to go to create a villain as despicable as Joker? And to do it with barely a nod to Batman, that’s a director with guts and the bold move certainly pays off.

Joker is its own film its own world. There are no links to other characters and movies and its refreshing to see a comic book movie without a hundred links to others. Whilst it is its own film, many in the audience will be aware of the character due to his popularity over the years as Batman’s greatest villain and there are little nods to the character’s history and great pieces of work over the years. Joker takes a grounded approach when bringing its world to life, even more so than Matt Reeves’ brilliant The Batman. It revels in the films and stories that have inspired it such as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. They both tell stories of lonely men struggling with mental illness and not getting the support they need and the consequences of this. In Joker, Arthur Fleck is man down on his luck. Working as a clown-for-hire in Gotham City in 1981, he ends up losing his job and being beat up by thieves. Gotham is suffering from high rates of unemployment, crime, and poverty. Arthur has sessions with his social worker to get his medication and deal with his ongoing mental health issues but even that support is being cut. He also battles with a condition that leads to him laughing, often hysterically, at sometimes inappropriate times. The little bits of light in his life are the moments where he looks after his ill mother who enjoys watching a show hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro) and Arthur begins to develop a fantasy where he appears on the show with Murray and speaks about how he cares for his mother, who used to work for Thomas Wayne. With his issues building, dressed as a clown, he shoots dead two people on the subway who were threatening him. This act leads to the tension in the city boiling over as some see Fleck as a hero standing up for himself and those who are looked down on.

Joker is not an easy movie at all. It is a hard watch with difficult themes and scenes that shine a light on issues that are still being seen in the world today. Phoenix is superb in his role as the tortured titular star who is beaten to the point of breaking and turning on the world. Great villains are ones that you can understand even if their actions may terrify you and the villain’s journey here is done to perfection. Phoenix displays to vulnerability of Fleck with every small detail, every twitch in his smile, every uncomfortable laugh and Phillips does brilliantly to keep the camera centred on the star – often when others may have cut away. It is a film designed to make you uncomfortable for a reason and in doing so, Phillips and Phoenix created a work of art that is incredibly fresh in a genre that is oversaturated easy stories and issues. The cinematography, sound, and editing are all expertly crafted to deliver a film that isn’t intended to make you smile but is instead there to make you feel and question the world around you. It is a work of art in a way that not many comic book blockbusters are and it stands out all the more for it right up to its explosive ending.

Joker may not be a film you will want to watch over and over but it is one that will stay with you forever. Masterfully crafted with Phoenix delivering the best performance of his stellar career, Joker is comic book film like no other. Whilst its brilliance can stand on its own away from others, there is a sequel on the way and it has a lot to live up to!

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REVIEW: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

The Juice is loose. Tim Burton returns to the world of his 1988 fan favourite Beetlejuice with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. I admit that I am not old enough to have seen Beetlejuice on the big screen, but it is a film I love and have watched many times since my teens. I was so excited to get the chance to see the sequel at the cinema, and I think that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is everything a fan could want from the return of our favourite tricksy demon. It’s an excellent watch for the spooky season if you still wish for some dark humour and horror without having to hide behind your hands.

Burton managed to get many of the original cast to reprise their roles in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, with Michael Keaton returning as the titular Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O’Hara as Delia. Their return makes the film feel awesomely familiar and adds to my nostalgia while watching. So did Danny Elfman’s fantastic musical score; for me Elfman’s scores are a quintessential part of a Burton film.

The newcomers to the series are a fabulous part of the cast ensemble, with Jenna Ortega playing Astrid, Lydia’s teenage daughter, and Justin Theroux as Lydia’s alarming orange smarmy boyfriend, Rory. Although Ortega fits perfectly visually as Ryder’s fictional daughter, her performance as a sullen eyeliner-wearing teen does not quite match up to that of Ryder’s Lydia in the original. My favourite of the new cast is a hilarious Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, a deceased actor, now dead crime detective. His scenes stand out to me as some of the funniest of the whole film.

The reason the Deetz family returns to our screen is triggered by tragedy. The death of patriarch Charles Deetz (shown through some amusing stop-motion clay animation, no less) means the Deetzs must return to Winter River for the funeral and to clear out the family home, still known locally as the ‘ghost house.’  Lydia has to leave her Ghost Hunting show, Delia cancels her latest art show, and Astrid is taken out of school. Rory is along for the ride, but no one seems to want him around. Demonic capers ensue with Beetlejuice using Lydia’s proximity to a scale model of Winter Ridge to try and win her back, and Astrid finds herself mixed up with supernatural shenanigans.

I accept that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will not be for everyone. Some will maintain that nothing can compare to the original, or some will find it silly slapstick. Both statements are true to a degree. I would say that the original is still the better film, and although the sequel  tries hard to match the original for dark humour and general gothic weirdness, it does not quite manage. It is also endearingly silly in place. If you are after a work of high-brow cinema, this will not be for you. But this is a fun, darkly comedic film that goes in the same vein as the original. Keaton is fantastic as Beetlejuice, and I am so glad Burton said he would not do a sequel without him because no one else could capture the manic energy of Beetlejuice the same way that Keaton does. The special effects are delightfully traditional, making the film visually very similar to the original. There are also many throwbacks to the first film, which, as a fan, I enjoyed spotting while watching.

I am a fan of spooky (but not scary) films, so Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was worth watching. Based on the enjoyment I got out of it; it was even worth the cost of seeing it at the cinema and the overpriced popcorn. If you liked the first film or want to make your weird little self happy for a couple of hours, you should go and give this a chance.

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REVIEW: A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

In her adult debut, Ann Liang tries her hand at historical fiction with A Song to Drown Rivers. We follow Xishi, based off of one of the Famous Four Beauties of Ancient China with the same name, who lives a humble life with her parents in the war-torn kingdom of Yue, after the death of her sister at the hands of enemy soldiers. Xishi’s beauty is coveted amongst her village, and she is steadily on the path that all beautiful women are expected to find themselves down: marrying well and supporting their families. When Fanli, a military advisor to the King, offers Xishi the opportunity to wield her beauty as a weapon against the enemy kingdom of Wu, Xishi finds herself straying from the path initially paved for her. She is to infiltrate the enemy palace under the guise of a concubine, offered as a gift to the young King of Wu, and topple the royal decree from within. In preparation for her mission, she finds herself falling for Fanli, and he for her. With her heart and her kingdom on the line, Xishi must gain the affection and trust of the King, without losing herself in the process.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a standalone historical epic, erring on the side of YA, but ultimately classified as adult, perhaps due to the few moments of visceral violence that war entails. The grimdark value is found within scenes like these, but also within the thread of the story that holds Xishi as a weapon and a pawn within a much larger political game. Whilst the romance felt like a steady string holding the story taut, it is the war, and Xishi’s role within it, that really had me turning the pages. Had the novel been longer, with more action in the Wu court, I would have felt compelled to agree with the classification of this story as an ‘epic’, but it ultimately fell short for me, as the story felt stunted and rushed. As mentioned, the story felt slightly YA, despite its categorisation as adult. Many of the plot points felt juvenile and convenient. The Wu court was supposed to be a hotbed for deception and corruption, but ultimately Xishi had to deal with a few aggressions from other concubines. The parts of the novel that did feel darker, such as the scenes where court advisors attempts to intercept Xishi’s influence over King Fuchai, were exceptionally done, and my only critique is that I wish there were more scenes of this manner. The political intrigue throughout was thrilling,  and I enjoyed how Xishi slot herself into areas that were simply not welcoming to women.

Xishi is a strong character, one whose growth felt natural with the situation she finds herself in. Every political move she made felt realistic to her character, which gave the story a sense of self-awareness that a lot of other ‘chosen one’ stories may lack. I particularly enjoyed the character of Fuchai, King of Wu. He is multi-faceted; beautiful to all, kind to Xishi, barbaric to anyone who slightly crosses him. It was fascinating reading the dynamics between him and Xishi, as her façade takes her deeper into the Wu court, and she is subject to his great affection, and greater disdain from his advisors. I also enjoyed the social commentary running throughout the novel, which questions whether Kings are the pillars of power that they are assumed to be, especially with all that Xishi has been able to achieve with simply her beauty as the means. Fanli is a perfectly mediocre love interest and character, although he never felt naturally aligned with the story. He always felt like an accessory in addition to Xishi, rather than a prominent player within the game. I would have enjoyed more development in his character, and a deeper involvement in the second half of the novel, as he felt quite one dimensional throughout.

Liang’s historical debut is an exploration of womanhood, beauty, war and love against all odds. She weaves a tapestry of tragedy and hope into an existing lore, and with it questions who power should truly lie with, and what they would do to attain it wholly.

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REVIEW: Those About to Die

With a big-time director and screenwriter like Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Godzilla, Stargate) and mega-stars like Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs, Thor) and Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones, Misfits) attached, Those About to Die was billed as Game of Thrones with togas and had an audience waiting to be thrilled. Set during a period of political intrigue in the Roman Empire, could the expensive TV series live up to its own hype?

The Romans have given writers ample inspiration to create thrilling stories and interesting characters over the years. We don’t have too long to wait before a sequel to one of the greatest movies ever made, Gladiator, hits the big screen but to fill the gap before then, we have Those About to Die. Rome in the first Century CE is like a viper’s den. Emperor Vespasian (an under-used Hopkins) has a choice to make as he decides which of his sons deserves to take over from him – his well-respected soldier son Titus, or the wily politician, Domitian. Hopkins in the Emperor role deciding between the two sons was a bit too similar to his role as Odin in the MCU, torn between his two very different sons, one who values guile and intelligence whilst the other favours brute strength but Hopkins does well enough in the role and the masterful actor can carry a scene without even pushing himself. Meanwhile, a group of young Andalucians arrive in the city as horsemen at the height of popularity of chariot racing and a determined Numidian mother fights to save her family from slavery and death. Finally, we have Tenax (Iwan Rheon), a bookmaker from the streets with dreams of rising to the upper echelons of the great city like Rome’s version of Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders. There’s a lot going on and the comparisons to Game of Thrones aren’t earned with some paper-thin storytelling and wooden acting in the early episodes which thankfully improves as the series goes on and the cast seem to get comfortable in their roles. It takes a few episodes to care about the plights of the main cast but patience is rewarded, even if it doesn’t hit the heights of recent TV greats and nowhere near Gladiator.

The political intrigue stands up quite well in Those About to Die, as it should in such a fertile setting. Grimdark fans will lap up the backstabbing and treachery in the show and the glimmers of light and hope stop the series from falling into all out despair at times with some gruesome deaths weighing heavy on the show at crucial moments. It certainly is a show that is not afraid to show the darkness of the Roman Empire. The chariot races and arena fights are exciting and interesting even if the CGI at times gives the show a bit of a cheap feel. The many storylines don’t feel fully developed for much of the season but there are moments where the beats hit hard and Tenax’s backstory and his care for children fleshes him out more than others whilst determined mother Cala has some of the best dialogue as she does whatever she can to rise up in Rome to defend her children and save them from the horrors of the city. The balance between street level Rome and the battle for the title of Emperor is woven together well but perhaps at the expense of either truly shining through as excellent storytelling. Still, Those About to Die does eventually grow into a fun and exciting series to fill that Roman void before Gladiator 2 is here.

A slow but eventually interesting series full of twists and turns in the city of Rome. Those About to Die may not get a solid thumbs up from the Emperor but it fights until the end and goes down in bloody glory. A fun, if nowhere near perfect romp during one of the greatest periods in history – worth a watch and perhaps season 2 will be when it hits its stride.

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REVIEW: Falling Into Oblivion by Aaron M. Payne

Aaron M. Payne comes blazing onto the scene full throttle with Falling Into Oblivion, a dark and electrifying cyberpunk murder mystery with an air of danger, urgency, and intrigue that is so addictive, it should honestly be criminal. It’s giving a bit of Dresden Files mixed with Neuromancer set against the backdrop of a neon-infused version of Batman’s Gotham City, and yet it is somehow also totally its own unique thing.

Through the eyes of local police detective Sol Harkones, we are sucked into the dark and deceptively alluring underworld of Nox City where corruption and danger lurk around every grimy corner. After another unrewarding day of work, he wants nothing more than to go home to read his young daughter her bedtime story, but his latest job turns out to be something altogether more elaborate and sinister. Soon, Sol finds himself tangled in an intricate web of conspiracies involving defective bodily modifications and deadly drugs, and he would rather risk his life than turn a blind eye.

Look, I can count on one hand the number of cyberpunk novels I have read, so it should come as no big surprise that Falling Into Oblivion felt like an excitingly refreshing story to me. The way that Payne brought this futuristic city to life in all its darkness and its glory immediately captured my imagination, and I loved how the deceptively alluring yet disturbingly unsettling ambiance just bled off every page; I truly felt like I was right there with Sol walking the dirty alleys and hunting for the next new mind-boggling clue in the investigation.

While I can see how some readers might be caught off guard by the unfiltered first person present tense narration, I personally found it to be extremely immersive and engaging. Even though I didn’t feel as emotionally invested in Sol as I would have wished for, I did feel like I understood him on a deep level, and I really enjoyed how his strong personal motivations, unwavering contrarian convictions, and relatable spiralling thoughts kept me grounded throughout this increasingly wild romp.

Moreover, Payne cleverly works a riveting ‘ticking clock’ element into the narrative through Sol’s burning desire to return home before his daughter’s bedtime, which not only organically raised the tension and personal stakes, but also added a surprising amount of heart to Falling Into Oblivion. Yet, at the same time, I also can’t deny that I felt like the breakneck pacing hindered the development of the side characters a bit, which took away some of the impact of a few twists and betrayals for me.

Still, for a narrative that spans only one frenetic evening and afternoon, it’s honestly quite astounding how much Payne was able to pack into these pages, especially in terms of layered world building and plot development. Interwoven throughout all the pulse-pounding chases, tense interrogations, and flashy fights are some seriously thought-provoking and cautionary themes on the risk of tech advancements, bodily modifications, the relentless greed of big corporations, and the devastating effects of expanding class division, which is exactly what will make Falling Into Oblivion linger on in my mind despite its short length. Also, we’ve got mech monsters and a cybernetic dragon, and if that doesn’t make this story memorable and prove that it stands out from the crowd, then I don’t know what will.

While this first instalment in the Tendrils of Chrome series has a relatively self-contained arc and wraps up its core mystery in a satisfying if slightly abrupt way, I am still left with so many burning questions and already can’t wait to return to Nox City to dig even deeper into this world and its characters. Whether you are a cyberpunk aficionado or a newbie to the genre, I think Falling Into Oblivion is a must-read for anyone who just wants to escape into a short yet unforgettable romp that is bursting with imagination, action, mystery, and heart.

Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Falling Into Oblivion is scheduled for release on October 4th, 2024.

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Grimdark is a State of Mind

In 1964, when American Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart was asked to define obscenity so the laws could effectively determine the difference between art and pornography, he said “I know it when I see it.”

Not exactly a legally binding definition, right? (Relax, I’m not comparing Grimdark to pornography… but more on that later.)

So, what is Grimdark?

It’s a question I’ve been asking myself ever since I first encountered the term Grimdark, which was around the same time I started making connections in indie SFF publishing. Is it nihilism? Is it bleak? Is it morally grey? Is it borderline splatterpunk? Or is it, as Mark Lawrence (does he need any further introduction in these hollowed pages?) once opined, a genre built on the most tenacious hope there was, a stubbornness determination to try even in the face of certain doom. Whether that doom is from without (the world or other characters in it) or from within (the protagonist’s overwhelming flaws) varies from story to story, but is indeed a familiar archetype within books under the Grimdark spectrum.

Perhaps because of the way authors use the existence of hope in their stories as evidence against their inclusion, Grimdark gathers to itself a reputation of being trauma porn (see, I’m not the one who drew the parallel, someone else drew it for me long before I was a proud member of the community) or the territory of the nihilistic edgelord who shocks for shock’s sake. But I have to admit, I am inclined to agree with Mr. Lawrence. Grimdark can be those things, sure, but so can many genres that dabble in dark. Horror, for example, or true crime, or any genre—fiction or nonfiction—that deals with stories of war, or genres that deal with deep, generational traumas, etc.

To me, the parallels between Grimdark and the attempt to define obscenity/pornography are fascinating. Art that examines (dare I say, celebrates) the extreme edges of the human condition are divisive and hard to define. What does extreme even mean, after all? The definition will be different for every one of us, whether we like it or not. We’ll know it when we see it.

So, if the author doesn’t even know the genre they’re writing, where does Grimdark even come from? And why do the authors of it seem so hesitant to claim the definition for their own bodies of work?

I’ve come to the conclusion that most creative souls have an inclination to create art that grapples with complicated expressions of humanity. That grappling is not exclusive to Grimdark. But once you add to that a certain inclination toward violence described in brutal, uncomfortable detail, a fascination with human flaws and trauma, an existential wondering about what heroism even means, maybe a bit of distrust thrown at The System, and a subversion of comfort, then you begin to build a Grimdark author.

Grimdark as a genre holds space for the depths of human depravity, sure, but also for the stubborn assertation that none of us are beyond hope. It gathers to it the traumatized, the broken, desperate, the wretched masses. It is built on big questions, some of them ugly, but all of them important. If heroes can only be unfailingly good, where do we, the tragically imperfect, turn to be seen and understood?

Perhaps the reason we can’t define it and only know it when we see it, is because Grimdark is the genre that sees us and claims us and welcomes us home. Even if—especially if?—we are obscene.

Grimdark is a state of mind. It declares, stubbornly and without surrender, that we all deserve stories. We all deserve art.

This essay was originally published in Grimdark Magazine #39.

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REVIEW: Artifact Space by Miles Cameron

Artifact Space is the first science fiction novel by Miles Cameron, a pseudonym for genre chameleon Christian Cameron, who has published over forty novels across historical fiction and epic fantasy. With his debut jaunt into the greater cosmos, Cameron introduces us to the Arcana Imperii Universe and its prodigious intergalactic trade. The technological advances of this far-flung future are built on xenoglas, a rare but powerful material originating from an alien Starfish race. Xenoglas is also big business, the most coveted good transported by the enormous Greatships. What could possibly go wrong?

The Greatships are a sight to behold: sword-shaped spacefaring behemoths, kilometers in length and having cross-sections five hundred meters wide. With their several inhabitable decks, the Greatships can accommodate the population of an entire city. However, their valuable cargo also makes them the target of nefarious attacks.

Miles Cameron’s deep love of history surfaces throughout Artifact Space. I enjoyed seeing how artifacts from Earth’s human civilization are captured in the far future of the Arcana Imperii Universe. There is clear inspiration from Renaissance era sea trade, with many of the ship and port names reflecting cities from the network of trade routes known as the Mediterranean Sea Complex. But the similarities go beyond nomenclature, as Miles Cameron has transposed many of the real-world problems faced by Renaissance era seafarers to a sci-fi outer space setting.

Notwithstanding its excellent worldbuilding, Artifact Space is primarily a character-driven novel built around the lively orphan Marca Nbaro, who forges papers to become a midshipman on the Greatship Athens. Artifact Space also features a great cast of side characters including the engineer, Qaqqaq, and Marca’s friend and roommate, Thea. Despite coming from a more privileged background, Thea forms a close friendship with Marca that becomes one of the highlights of the novel. There is also some light romance, which (unfortunately) I never found quite believable.

There is nary a dull moment here as Marca faces the perils of space while struggling to heal the scars of her past. Miles Cameron’s propulsive writing races to keep up with the fast-paced action. The author’s past career as a naval officer definitely shines through in considerations of military strategy.

Altogether, Artifact Space is sure to become a favorite among fans of space opera and military science fiction. The adventure continues with Deep Black, the second and final volume of the Arcana Imperii duology.

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REVIEW: The Light of Kasaban by Thomas Howard Riley

In The Light of Kasaban, Thomas Howard Riley spins an excitingly wondrous yet brutally emotional fantasy tale full of trauma, sacrifice, found family, and deadly magick; this book might not be a chunker, but it will hit you like a brick in the gut.

Set in a scorching hot desert city every bit as brutal as its oppressive overlords, The Light of Kasaban tells the story of Saya Ani Anai, a poor young teacher of forbidden magick who has dedicated her life to protecting orphaned magi kids from the brutal religious order that wants them all dead. Crumbling under the yoke of oppression and battling enemies both within and without, Saya will have to risk everything to seize a chance at survival, or else her life and hopes will all go up in flames.

“The light of Kasaban burns all it touches, love, hope, joy. Nothing can withstand it. The heat bakes flesh and stone. The winds whisper like flames. The sun does not forgive.”

Now, for some inexplicable reason, Thomas Howard Riley has always been one of those authors whose writing I just knew I was going to love; dark, character-driven and emotionally destructive stories? Say less, please. And lo and behold, The Light of Kasaban was exactly what I was hoping it would be, instantly reminding me of the styles of my favourites like Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight and Krystle Matar’s Legacy of the Brightwash, while also feeling incredibly fresh and unique.

From the very first page, Riley just sets the tone and creates an all-consuming sense of dread that kept me in a chokehold from start to finish. I immediately latched onto Saya, not because she is so perfectly loveable, but because she is so tragically human and relatable in her fears and flaws. Moreover, this atmospheric desert city setting might be hot, but I’d dare to say that it almost pales in comparison to Saya’s own fire and spunk, which just made me love her even more.

“She could not be the one who broke down. She could not be the one who collapsed in tears. She could not be the one who desperately sank into the embrace of someone else and begged them to take over the strain for her. Kasaban offered no solace for those who broke. It did not pick up those who fell. It did not wipe away the tears of those who wept.”

I personally really enjoyed how, in a weird way, the first half of The Light of Kasaban has a bit of a slice-of-life vibe to it, though don’t mistake that for me saying this is a cozy story. It’s just that we get such a terrifyingly intimate look into Saya’s troubled mind as she goes about her days risking her life to protect the children she has taken under her wing, which allows for such an organic way of getting invested in these characters, for better or worse (ouch, my poor heart!).

Riley really doesn’t shy away from exploring the darker realms of the human mind as well as the depravities that humanity is capable of, especially in the occasional secondary POV from the deliciously hateable yet terrifyingly fascinating antagonist. The way that sensitive topics of complex trauma, grief, religious zealotry, oppression, genocide, sexual harrassment, morality, and sacrifice are woven into this narrative is confronting in the best way, and even though some scenes almost made me a bit too uncomfortable, I just loved how Riley’s elegant yet knife-sharp prose only made those visceral scenes and difficult themes hit home all the harder. 

“Hiding to survive was better than fighting every moment of every day to live. Invisibility was better than armor. No one could fight the Priests. She had seen foolish people try.”

Though, despite the darkness and depravity, I think The Light of Kasaban is at its core a fiercely powerful story of defiance, hope and love. Saya’s emotional journey throughout this story is so beautiful to witness, and I absolutely loved the wholesome dynamic between her and (most of) the kids. Even though some of the children felt a little better developed than others, I still think the found family vibes absolutely shine and I especially appreciated how their childhood innocence and sneaky hijinx added so much heart to the narrative.

Not to mention, the Render magic system is undeniably cool, which only increased that sense of excitement and wonder for me. I do have to admit that I didn’t fully grasp all of the intricacies and limitations of the magic, though I don’t know if that was because it was intentionally soft and elusive, or due to the fact that this story is set in Riley’s existing Luminaworld which I personally hadn’t explored before yet. In any case, for the most part I felt like The Light of Kasaban was an extremely smooth and immersive introduction to this dark yet intriguing world, and if anything, it only made me more eager to explore the world further by diving into more of Riley’s works as soon as possible.

“One of these tomorrows will lead us to a better life. As long as the tomorrows keep coming, one of them will be that day. And the good thing about tomorrows is that there always is one.”

With the satisfyingly hopeful yet dreadfully ominous note that this story leaves off on, I am beyond curious to see where these scarred yet strong characters go next from here. If you like the sound of a dark fantasy tale that is first and foremost an intimately vulnerable character-study, but which still offers plenty of high stakes action, risky thievery, and excitingly dangerous magic, then I can’t recommend The Light of Kasaban highly enough!

Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Light of Kasaban is scheduled for release on September 17th, 2024.

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REVIEW: The Escher Man by T.R. Napper

Last Updated on September 15, 2024

We return to T.R. Napper’s wider neon-soaked cyberpunk future in the stand-alone novel, The Escher Man (Titan, 17th September), a brutally barnstorming, mind-bending tale of revenge, memory manipulation, and the downtrodden sticking their middle fingers up at the world order.

Endel “Endgame” Ebbinghaus is a cartel enforcer in Macau, cashing cheques and breaking necks as required by his terrifying boss, Mr. Long. He’s a violent man, but he’s also a family man, and with this being his last day on the job, it’s time for him to get out. But in a world where control goes beyond a contract and into the deepest kind of manipulation possible–your memories–getting out from under the thumb of one of the most vicious men in Asia is not going to be simple, or painless, or without a very tall stack of mangled bodies piling up.

The Escher Man is an exciting approach to storytelling. Amongst the things you’d expect in a cyberpunk novel–plenty of grit, snark, technology, violence, and political commentary–Napper takes you into a world of Chinese military and cultural occupation forced on the most culturally diverse region on earth, Asia, as China becomes the premier military power on the planet. Napper’s lived experience and research into the nuances of Asia bring a world to life that feels real and possible and utterly fucking terrifying. In The Escher Man you aren’t just in a non-descript, American-style city with Kanji lettering on the signs–you are in the cultural melting pot of future Asia in every way.

Against this backdrop, the story structure uses the manipulation of memory heavily, in a way that I haven’t enjoyed (outside of Napper’s other works) this much since watching Guy Pearce in Memento. I have long loved the way Napper plays with the theme of memory in the universe he’s built. It’s a consistent theme throughout his works, such as Neon Leviathan, 36 Streets, and Ghost of a Neon God–whether it plays a key role like it does in The Escher Man or it’s in the background of a story with a different primary theme. Memory (its ownership, manipulation, damage, monetisation, criminalisation, and loss) can be a really tricky theme to construct a story around. I think it can go wrong in so many ways. In The Escher Man, Napper has delivered this core structural theme of the story perfectly.

Endel’s memory has been overwritten and re-written time and time again (to protect his criminal overlords from Endel’s likely eventual capture and interrogation) to the point where he’s at the juncture of becoming a mindless drone of instant violence. He’s become almost a parody of a gangster hitman living hard. A daily wake up note from the version of himself who went to sleep the night before helps guide you, the reader, through Endel’s story. I loved the way spirits of memory showed up and impacted Endel’s daily world view, how the memories shifted and changed as they were impacted by his waking hours and the work of Mr. Long. The further we got in, and the more complex Endel’s moves to achieve his goal, the more this aspect of the book appealed to me.

Napper’s cyberpunk voice is on point. Endel and the supporting cast are brutal, savagely damaged humans doing horrible things to meet their own ends, but there is always heart at the guts of each of them. The way he’s woven in his experience working for a decade in the poorest parts of South East Asia to create a very real, very possible feeling future Asia Pacific, where the Former United States is a spent force, Europe is a wasteland, and China has taken over to be the prominent planetary superpower, is perfect. In particular the c-glyph tool–a memory pin and essentially Google inside your head–plays a key part here as he extrapolates out a very real theme for us today: can you ever really trust a technology company to do the right thing by its users?

If there is one author alive and writing today capable of picking up the cyberpunk banner and waving his fist at the future of our species whenever Richard Morgan hangs up his boots, I think it’s T.R. Napper. Rarely does a book so encapsulate its genre while also pushing the boundaries of its audience. The Escher Man is fucking brilliant.

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REVIEW: The Savage Sword of Conan #4

Much like the prelude Free Comic Book Day issue, this double-sized installment of The Savage Sword of Conan #4 helps lay the groundwork for the Conan the Barbarian: Battle of the Black Stone multi-character crossover event miniseries. In this issue, each of the miniseries’ main characters has a close encounter with either the titular black stone that has been a recurring motif throughout the first twelve issues of Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian title or the mysterious eye-shaped sigil associated with it.

After a brief introductory page written by Jim Zub describing the concept behind the Battle of the Black Stone project, the issue opens with “Birthright in Black,” a Conan story by Zub with art by Fernando Dagnino. Conan experiences a vision in which he devolves to a primitive pre-human state. In a scene reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, Conan battles against other savages at the foot of the black stone obelisk. As he fulfills the obelisk’s bloodlust, he is rewarded with earthly pleasures, but the barbarian soon finds himself chafe under the malign influence of the obelisk. When Conan comes to, he’s back in the Aquilonian frontier, suggesting that this story takes place shortly after the Free Comic Book Day issue. While the artwork is fantastic, the hallucinatory nature of the comic’s event makes it hard to get too excited about the events of the story. Prophetic or not, it’s all a dream.

“Blood From a Stone” is another Solomon Kane story written and illustrated by Patch Zircher. While I didn’t feel like the plot of Zircher’s three-part “Master of the Hunt” series in previous installments of The Savage Sword of Conan quite lived up to the phenomenal artwork, this outing is a more successful one. Solomon Kane finds himself thrown in with a handful of mercenaries and remnants of the Hungarian military, raiding Turkish troops for supplies. When several of his comrades suffer mysterious deaths, their hearts removed from their bodies, Kane surmises that dark sorcery is afoot. Separated from Conan by thousands of years, Kane ends up having his own encounter with the black stone obelisk and its corrupting influence. The historical grounding of this story adds to its appeal, and the monster appearing at its climax is visually striking. I hope Zircher will contribute more Solomon Kane stories to future issues of The Savage Sword of Conan, they have been some of the strongest work to be featured in the current incarnation of the magazine.

Written by Jim Zub with artwork by Dean Kotz, “Ever and Never Beyond” deals with Brissa, the Pictish scout who joined forces with Conan during the Bound in Black Stone story arc (Conan the Barbarian issues #1-4). Readers of the monthly title may recall that Brissa was separated from Conan at the climax of Conan the Barbarian #4 and presumed dead. Those who read the 2024 Free Comic Book Day issue already know that Brissa is alive, if perhaps existing outside of her normal era, but this short comic fills in the circumstances surrounding her disappearance from the black stone citadel. Like Zub’s Conan story in this issue, this episode feels vaguely superfluous, like something that will be briefly recapped in a few panels of the Conan the Barbarian: Battle of the Black Stone miniseries proper.

Set in 1935, “Horror from the Tomb” is a pulp adventure by Jeffrey Shanks and artist Eryk Donovan, starring Professor John Kirowan and his two-fisted companion John Conrad of author Robert E. Howard’s Cthulhu Mythos tales. Kirowan and Conrad journey to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt to examine a colleague’s archaeological findings. It’s not long before the duo encounters a corpse inscribed with an unsettling eye-shaped rune, along with evidence that their host has fallen prey to an otherworldly threat. The general premise is familiar but well-executed, and after reading so many non-fiction essays by Jeffrey Shanks in the pages of Conan the Barbarian and The Savage Sword of Conan it was exciting to see him try his hand at a comic script.

“Matrimony,” by Fred Kennedy and Andy Belanger is perhaps destined to be the most controversial installment of this issue. It features Robert E. Howard’s other hot-blooded red-headed swordswoman: not Red Sonya of Rogatino (the initial inspiration for the Red Sonja comic book heroine), but Dark Agnes de Chastillon. For reasons that remain slightly obscure, Dark Agnes creeps into the estate of Duke Ilya Kursonovich, searching for evidence of occult misdeeds. Upon encountering the dark eye sigil emblazoned on a tapestry, Agnes abruptly loses consciousness. The audience is then presented with a truncated retelling of Dark Agnes’ origin story—Howard’s short story “Sword Woman”—but modified to include supernatural elements. While the original Dark Agnes is a fierce and entertaining character, her depiction here does her a disservice. Her story here is muddled, with no real resolution. In an issue full of realistic artwork, Belanger’s anime styling also sticks out like a sore thumb.

Fortunately, the issue concludes on a strong note with “Black Oasis,” by Ron Marz and artist Mike Perkins. This story focuses on Texan adventurer Francis Xavier Gordon, known to enemy and ally alike as El Borak (Arabic for “The Swift”). Having rescued a young prince from a rival tribe, El Borak and the youth flee across the Arabian desert, pausing to take shelter in the ruins of an ancient temple. Despite his misgivings about the eerie atmosphere within the temple and the prominently displayed dark eye sigil, El Borak uses it as the stage for his final showdown with the prince’s pursuers. Compared to the other comics in this issue, the supernatural element is nicely understated. This comic also succeeds where the Dark Agnes short “Matrimony” fails, by effectively demonstrating how El Borak is a cool character worthy of the audience’s support and enthusiasm. El Borak’s first appearance in the Titan Comics incarnation of The Savage Sword of Conan is a success, and I hope to see more by the same creative team.

Overall, The Savage Sword of Conan #4 is a brisk and entertaining read. Given the goal of this issue there’s a certain degree of “sameyness” across the issue’s stories, with each installments’ hero encountering either the black stone obelisk or the dark eye sigil that accompanies it, but there was enough variety between settings and the telling of each chapter to keep the issue from feeling monotonous.

Read The Savage Sword of Conan #4 by Jim Zub (W), Fernando Dagnino (A) et al.

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